Hey NYC! Reader Lori Pieper writes

the Pope John Paul I Conference October 12-13 in Queens NY is going to be held in less than three weeks, and registration closes on October 7, so now is the time to reserve your spot!

People can find all the needed info with dandy links to articles and a local TV interview I did, all on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/jpicentenary). There’s a link to registration from there too.

And remember that we commemorate the anniversary of John Paul I’s death today, September 28, which may soon, please God, be his feast day in the Universal Church. In fact the Positio for his beatification is going to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on October 17, the centenary of his birth.

Mark, thank you for reminding us of this conference and that the anniversary of his death is tomorrow. Sadly many Catholics have either forgotten about this particular Pope because he was only on the chair of Peter for a month or because they think he was and still is “irrelevant”. Others either think he was a liberal who was going to overturn Pope Paul’s teaching or that he was murdered, or just don’t care anything about him. The truth is Karol Woytyla took his name and his pallium, and he abolished the “we us and ours’ was the first pope not to be crowned, and and was witty simple and clear in his teachings. Hopefully he will be beatified soon along with Paul VI.

Joannie, AMEN!!! The conference is going to address a lot of these issues, and that is why I’m so anxious to get the word out. People have no idea of who John Paul I really was. Because of his modesty and desire to be hidden, it has taken years for the details of his life to be fully known, and for people to appreciate his insights and his prophetic understanding of the Church as a bishop and cardinal, not to mention his spiritual greatness. He was so modest, said his successor, John Paul II, that in the conclave he sought only to be hidden, but God chose him and revealed him to the world. A wonderful gift to the world and the Church.

Thanks, Mark, for putting this up!

I forgot when writing that some folks don’t have (or don’t like) Facebook. Here’s the direct link to the conference/centenary website. jpicentenary.org. It contains stuff not yet on the Facebook page. Specifically check out my upcoming book with translations of John Paul I’s writings.